ECHR decision on Gay and Lesbian Human Rights; Marriage Equality update: Northern Ireland and Australia
The European Court of Human Rights last week issued an extremely significant judgment advancing gay and lesbian human rights. The Court, in
X. v. Turkey [French], upheld a complaint by a gay man about treatment he suffered whilst in prison and found that it violated his rights under Article 3 (prohibiting torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment) and Article 14 (prohibiting discrimination) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
The case marks an important development in ECHR jurisprudence since it is the first time the Court has found that issues relating to sexual orientation can yield an Article 3 violation. Paul Johnson writing for the Jurist says “the Court has finally recognised that social discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation underpins forms of ill treatment that impair rights guaranteed by Article 3”.
Click here to read his article.
In other news, the Northern Ireland Assembly has rejected a motion to allow gay marriage in Northern Ireland. The Green Party and Sinn Fein proposed the motion which was narrowly defeated. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) tabled a petition of concern that meant the motion would have to command a cross-community majority to succeed. Green Party MLA Steven Agnew said he was disappointed with the result but believed the “narrow defeat” indicated a step forward for marriage equality.
Meanwhile in Australia, on 11 October, a motion to stop Australian federal government from challenging Australian States’ same-sex marriage laws failed. Late last month the Australian state of Tasmania voted down same sex marriage legislation. The West Australian newspaper says that majority of the objections to the bill were based on constitutionality concerns and the possibility of Tasmania facing a costly High Court challenge.
Click here to read the article and
another.